Tobias Lear (September 19, 1762 – October 11, 1816) was the personal secretary to President George Washington. Lear served Washington from 1784 until the former-President's death in 1799. Lear's journal details Washington's final moments and his last words: 'Tis well. Tobias Lear also served third president Thomas Jefferson, as envoy to Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti), and as peace envoy in the Mediterranean Sea and North Africa during the First Barbary War (1801–1805) and the Second Barbary War (1815). He was responsible for negotiating a peace treaty with the Bey of Tripoli that ended the first Barbary War. Early life Lear was born on Hunking Street in the seaport town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on September 19, 1762, a fifth-generation American and the fifth generation of his family named Tobias. His parents were Tobias Lear (born August 1, 1737) (cousin of John Langdon) and Mary Stillson Lear (born May 25, 1739). His parents were married on December 29, 1757. The family home on Hunking Street, which still stands today, had been built in 1742 by the Stillson family. Lear had an older sister named Mary (Polly). Before going to college, Lear attended Dummer Charity School (now known as The Governor's Academy) where Samuel Moody helped prepare Lear for college. Instead of joining the Continental Army, as many of his contemporaries did, Lear attended Harvard College, beginning in 1779, during the American Revolutionary War. He graduated with thirty classmates in 1783. Career He began his career by being an apprentice until a family friend, Benjamin Lincoln, recommended him for the job of tutoring Martha Washington's grandchildren and to the post of George Washington's personal secretary, both to which he was hired in 1786. He was integrated into Washington's house and his post quickly evolved beyond clerk to being Washington's right-hand man, doing whatever Washington needed, such as tutoring, filling out expense reports, and writing letters. He performed all his duties well. Lear moved with Washington to New York City in 1789, when Washington became president, and they often dined alone together during his presidency. Lear was responsible for filling out Washington's expense reports as president, which Washington had wisely chosen instead of a $25,000 salary, as they turned out to be much more. In 1793, at the start of Washington's second term, Lear decided to leave Washington and start out on his own (albeit with help from Washington). He started a company, T.